Sharpe says the Chiefs have evolved after losing SBW back to the NRL. Source: AAP

It will take a mighty effort from the Brumbies to defeat the Chiefs in the Super Rugby final with the hosts now boasting both a brilliant attack and the ability to build pressure - the latter of which they had to master after losing Sonny Bill Williams.

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I thought the Brumbies' achievement last week was fantastic. The way they withheld the Bulls' onslaught and then came back and scored from that one opportunity was magnificent. It was probably one of the gutsiest final quarters I've ever seen.

And then the Chiefs-Crusaders game, well, what a game of rugby that was. I think the semi-finals were what everyone hopes for from playoffs footy, they were both really good games that produced a lot of great rugby and loads of excitement.

You’ve got to feel for young Bulls skipper Dewald Potgieter. I think you can put his decision not to take those penalty goals against the Brumbies down to inexperience. In that particular atmosphere and in front of that type of crowd, you can be made to feel a bit bulletproof – the Bulls were really putting the pressure on and thought they could really put the final dagger in.

But credit to the Brumbies – they withstood that and then responded with a wonderful try. However, had the Bulls stuck to accumulating points I think we may well have seen a different result.

Brumbies prop Ben Alexander has received plenty of plaudits for the way he’s responded since that third Lions Test. But to be honest, I think some of that treatment was a little unfair. The tighthead always gets the blame for a poor scrum performance but it’s got to have the attitude of the entire eight.

Benny had the help of the other seven guys around him at the weekend and they got a good result. And he will have learned a lot from that Lions series – I think we’ll see some of Ben Alexander’s best rugby against the All Blacks, Springboks and Pumas.

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You’ve got to give credit to the Chiefs for getting themselves into this position – it takes a mighty effort to even give yourself the chance to win back-to-back titles. Athletically, they’re a very good side but I think the key to their success is that they all understand how they want to play the game. From Big Benny Tameifuna up front to Lelia Masaga out wide – they’re all committed to the same gameplan.

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Their set-piece, too, has come on in leaps and bounds over the last two years, and co-captain Craig Clarke has had a lot to do with the improvements at the scrum and especially the lineout. They’re a team that can attack and score from anywhere but they’re also a team that can build pressure. That’s something they’ve evolved into this year, even without Sonny Bill Williams.

Then, of course, there’s Aaron Cruden. The back-up All Blacks No.10 has had another excellent season and he steers the side around brilliantly.

We’ve already seen Matt Toomua’s willingness in defence and I suspect Jake White will be asking more of him this week as the Brumbies try to unsettle Cruden. They’re sure to send plenty of forward-runners Cruden’s way too and while he doesn’t miss many tackles these days, he does give up the advantage-line quite a bit.

What do you say about George Smith? I’ve run out of superlatives to describe the veteran flanker so I’m going to give Peter Kimlin and Ben Mowen a rap. George wouldn’t be able to produce those game-turning plays without the help of his fellow backrowers and it’s going to take the work of all three men to outplay the likes of Liam Messam and Tanerau Latimer.

I think the Chiefs will win even though I’d love to see the Brumbies get up. I just think the big travel factor plus the emotion of last week’s win – quite often that can be a telling influence - might be too much for the Brumbies to overcome.

The Brumbies defence will be good and I have no doubt the Chiefs will have to work hard for it, but I just think the homeground advantage will see them over the line.

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